Blog

The ultimate guide to surviving Xerocon London 2019

Whether it’s your very first time attending, or you’re a seasoned pro, our guide to Xerocon will ensure you get the most out of this spectacular event.

If you’re lucky enough to be going to Xerocon London 2019, you’ll be in the company of thousands of other accounting and bookkeeping professionals hailing from different corners of the globe. To get the most out of it, you ought to be prepared!

Things to do before you leave

Setting goals with your team will help you understand what you want to get out of Xerocon, both during and after. If you’re the only attendee, ask your colleagues and leaders if there are any specific sessions they’d like you to attend or app partners they’d like you to meet up with. If you’re going as a team, divide and conquer – prioritise the essentials first and create a back-up list in case you find yourself with spare time.

How are you going to ensure you get ROI on your time and money? Read this article before you go.

Set your out of office and ensure you do a handover so you’re not working or scrambling to hit deadlines at Xerocon.

Work items to pack: chargers, pens, a notebook, and your laptop or tablet, if you’re taking that too.

Do your research: If you're new to Xerocon and the cloud journey, be clear on what solutions you’re looking for. There are multiple apps that all do similar things (e.g. there are many different tools: there are six Reporting apps. There are 3 or 4 Time management apps, and 3 or 4 Data Processing apps). So do some research before you come along, but the pro tip is to start by looking at the #1 by popularity in each category; it’s top dog for a reason!

Check out the Xero Marketplace to see peer reviews for each app as well. You can see Spotlight Reporting reviews here. Ask us for our customer case studies and advocate information, so you can hear from users and partners of ours.

At Xerocon!

Get familiar with the floorplanand the location of the app partners you want to visit. Lock in time early to meet your priorities as it shouldn’t be left to the last minute rush. Spotlight Reporting is at stand B17 near the stairs on the lower floor, so be sure to come say hi!

Fill your notebook when you head to keynote talks and breakout sessions. Take as many photos of slides from your phone as a back up too. You’ll want to share your notes with your team members and also create a list of action points to follow up on when you get back.

Keep an eye out for our friendly Spotlight team. Ask them about our latest forecasting features, their best-practice tips, and how you can use Spotlight to smash 2020!

Daniel HarperAccount Manager

Loreena MaguetAccount Manager

Thomas WhiteCustomer Success Specialist

Get your social sorted

First things first! Make sure you follow the feeds – follow Spotlight Reporting on Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook. We’ll be posting lots of helpful updates at the event. Make sure you follow Xero on those channels too.

You’ll be making lots of new connections, so make sure you look like a pro. Clean up your business and personal pages on social. We’re talking LinkedIn, Facebook, or Twitter accounts if they’re not up to date.

Know the hashtags so you can easily search for content and updates at the event. A few to start you off: #Xerocon, #Xerocon2019, #XeroconLondon, #SpotlightXerocon and #SpotlightReporting

Comfort tips that you’ll thank us for later…

Comfy shoes are a must – some people do 20,000+ steps at Xerocon. Ladies, note: this is not the place to wear high heels!

Take a water bottle and stay hydrated.

Pack a nice outfit for the networking events! There are plenty of parties and sideline events that pop up each year.

There’s also lots of coffee, so take your own keep cup to help cut down on the amount of waste each day.

After Xerocon

Getting home and back to work – the struggle is real! You leave Xerocon all inspired, with great ideas and improvements, and then you get back to work and back to the daily grind. That motivation disappears really quickly, so on your first day back at work, spend AT LEAST half a day summarising your time and high priority ideas/tasks.

Allocate the time, block out your calendar, and leave your out of office on if needed.

Delegate as much as you can to colleagues and other team members (e.g. allocate a Spotlight Champion who can follow-up on the emails and learn more and implement etc).